Carl Ritter von Ghega – 2018 Surveyor of the Year

Carl Ritter von Ghega was proclaimed 2018 Surveyor of the Year on 21 March 2018. In this paper, we explore how this Austrian of Albanian extraction, born in Venice, played an important role in geodesy and the surveying profession and the honours he got up to the present day. We investigate his background and details of his professional path, education and most important contributions in the areas of surveying and
engineering at large. We describe his most significant achievement, that is, the Semmering Railway, which was dismissed at the time as impossible to achieve. In 1998, the Semmering Railway was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Apart from this project, which left a great impression on the engineering profession, von Ghega also developed
the Borovnica Viaduct built in the mid-19th century in Slovenia.

U Hrvatskoj je 11. prosinca 2018., u organizaciji Hrvatske komore ovlaštenih inženjera geodezije -HKOIG, prigodnim pozvanim predavanjem o liku i djelu Carla Rittera von Ghege obilježeno njegovo proglašenje geodetom godine 2018. At the time, rumours circulated about his tragic end, reportedly suicide due to the axes of one of the Semmering tunnels which had failed to join up correctly. However, the rumours were unfounded. Carl Ritter von Ghega died oftuberculosis and his requiem mass was held in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

Origins
Carl Ritter von Ghega was an Austrian ofAlbanian extraction, born in Venice (Elsie 2012). His father was Anton Gega, a captain in the Venetian navy. His mother was Anna, nee Pribis. On 24 June 2005, a symposium entitled Carl Gega -Between Legend and Reality was organised by the Albanian Embassy in Vienna. It was demonstrated that Carl Ritter von Ghega was of Albanian extraction.
Ghega's ancestors emigrated from Albania to Perast in Montenegro, and from there to Venice. Gjergi Gega was a captain and judge who moved from Albania to Perast. His son, Cristofor, travelled from Perast to Venice, where he became a naval officer. Cristofor Gega (Carl's great-grandfather), had a son, Gasper (Carl's grandfather), who also became a naval officer and captain. Gasper Gega married Laura Iavelli, whose family had run the 'Albanian School' for decades in Venice. They had three children: Anton, Giovananton, and Angele. The eldest, Antonio (Anton) became a captain in the Venetian Navy and was the father of Carl. Carl Ritter von Ghega's family tree is shown in Figure 4. 3 Education,Further Training and Career Carl Ritter von Ghega attended the Military School in Venice (TU Graz 2019). From 1817 to 1819 he studied mathematics and engineering at the Faculty ofEngineering Sciences and Mathematics ofthe University of Padua, where he also attended courses in architecture at the Accademia di Belle Arti. It is recorded that he was enrolled in the second year of studies in 1818. He gained his doctorate in the field ofmathematics on 11 June 1819 at the age of17 (Stefa and Ismaili 2018).
For forty years, he served the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and dedicated 17 years of his life to service in Venice. He spent a great deal oftime engaged in professional training in order to hone his knowledge, skills and experience for the great challenges which were to face him later in life. From 1836 to 1842, he travelled around England and other European countries, studying their railway systems. In April 1842, the Austrian Empire sent him to North America to gain knowledge and experience which would stand him in good stead regarding the future project to build the Semmering Railway. While there, he investigated 39 railways which covered 2413 kilometres oftrack altogether (UNESCO 1998).
Upon his return to Austria, he began his professional career, primarily in the construction ofrailway lines.

Professional career
Before his work on designing, engineering and constructing railways, he began his professional engineering career in Venice, in road and hydro-technical designs. He participated in the construction of the road from Cortina d'Ampezzo to Toblach.
From 1836 to 1840, he supervised the construction of the railway line from Brno to Breclav, also known as the Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway, from Vienna to Krakow. In 1842, he was entrusted with the design ofthe future Austrian rail network. In 1844, he presented his plans for a railway from Gloggnitz to Mürzzuschlag via Semmering, known as the Semmering Railway, crossing the Semmering Pass, which until then had been considered impossible.

Most important achievements
Dozens of road systems, buildings and railway lines throughout the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Italy) were the result ofCarl Ritter von Ghega's work.

Accolades
After his death, Carl Ritter von Ghega was given many honours and awards. Several streets, squares, schools and museums were named after him. A series of postage stamps bearing his portrait were issued to commemmorate the Semmering Railway. In 1967, his face appeared on the Austrian 20-schilling banknote.
He was also awarded a number of titles. To the Austrians, he was known as (Stefa and Ismaili 2018): Imperial Ministerial Advisor Commandant ofthe Order ofFranz Jozef Knight ofthe Order ofthe Iron Crown, 3rd class Knight ofthe Order ofLeopold Honorary Citizen ofBrno and Trieste Commandant ofthe Tuscan Order ofJoseph Only a few years after his death, his fame began to grow and spread throughout the world. Perhaps the greatest honour he received was that of the Society ofAustrian Engineers and Architects to mark the 15 th anniversary of the Semmering Railway. In honour of his life and work, a large monument was erected to him at the Semmering railway station ( Figure 5  Carl Ritter van Ghega's most significant achievement was of course the design and construction of the Semmering Railway. There had been a railway line from Vienna to Trieste since the mid-19 th century. The section between Gloggnitz and Mürzzuschlag, je Lauru Iavelli čija je obitelj desetljećima vodila "Scuola dei Albanesi" (Albansku školu) u Veneciji. Gasper Gega i Laura Iavelli imali su troje djece: Antona, Giovanantona i Angela. Antonio (Anton) Gega, kapetan venecijanske mornarice, bio je otac Carl Rittera von Ghege odnosno Karla Gege (Canaj 2007 Četrdeset godina radio je u službi Austro-Ugarske Monarhije, a 17 godina u službi u Veneciji. Veliki dio svoga života posvetio je stručnom usavršavanju kako bi stekao znanja, vještine i iskustvo za svoje najveće životne izazove. Tako se od 1836. do 1842. usavršavao u Engleskoj i ostalim europskim zemljama proučavajući željeznice. U travnju 1842. poslan je na usavršavanje u Sjevernu Ameriku kako bi stekao znanja i iskustva za projekt izgradnje Semerinške željeznice. Tamo je proučavao 39 željezničkih pruga ukupne duljine 2413 km (UNESCO 1998).
The railway line from Gloggnitz to Mürzzuschlag, via Semmering, was the first mountain railway line in Europe with a standard gauge (New World Encyclopedia 2019), and was constructed between 1848 and 1854. The terrain was particularly challenging, and the large differences in elevation presented a definite engineering challenge in those days. It was considered particularly important to preserve the landscape and make the railway line fit into its surroundings, and this was achieved mostly due to Ghega, who ensured that passengers would enjoy an attractive railway journey with many picturesque

A place in the UNESCO World Heritage
On 2 December 1998, the Semmering Railway was inscribed in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites, during the Convention on World Heritage held in Kyoto (UNESCO 2019). According to the UNESCO categories, the Semmering Railway represents a cultural landscape entity.
According to the evaluation of UNESCO experts (International Council on Monuments and Sites), it was difficult to establish the origins of the railway which had been used constantly, maintained and modernised since 1854. However, the authenticity of the railway and appertaining objects was indisputable. In addition, the influence of the railway on the landscape and environment were deemed absolutely authentic. The same conclusion in terms of the cultural landscape was reached regarding the construction of luxury villas and hotels in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, forming one of the first Alpine resorts for the Viennese aristocracy. The way they were carefully integrated into the Alpine landscape has been maintained up to the present day.
In May 1995, an ICOMOS expert commission visited the Semmering Railway and confirmed the above claims. However, the commission then requested a more detailed evaluation in order to review the legislation ofthe Republic ofAustria regarding the cultural landscape in Lower Austria and Styria, including the protection ofthe Semmering Railway area.
The following conclusion and proposal were submitted (UNESCO 1998): The Semmering Railway, constructed between 1848 and 1854 over 41 km of high mountains, is one of the greatest feats of civil engineering during the pioneering phase ofrailway building. Set against a spectacular mountain landscape, the railway line remains in use today thanks to the quality of its tunnels, viaducts, and other works, and has led to the construction ofmany recreational buildings along its tracks. It is proposed to inscribe the Semmering Railway in the World Heritage List on the basis ofcriteria II and IV: Criterion II: The Semmering Railway represents an outstanding technological solution to a major physical problem in the construction ofearly railways. Criterion IV: With the construction of the Semmering Railway, areas of great natural beauty became more easily accessible and as a result these were developed for residential as well recreational use, creating a new form oflandscape.
Regarding the importance of Semmering railway the construction of the 27.3 km long Semmering Tunnel began on 25 April 2012. It has been designed to replace the 41 km Semmering Pass crossing. It is envisaged that construction will be completed by 2026. The total cost of the tunnel will be around 3.1 billion euros, and the projected speed of the locomotives will be up to 250 km/h. The shorter length of the tunnel compared to the old Semmering Railway track ( Figure  8) and the high speed projected will create a time saving ofaround 30 minutes.

Carl Ritter van Ghega's contribution to surveying
Carl Ritter von Ghega's contribution to surveying is perhaps the least known aspect of his work. Since there is little literature available regarding his life and work, it has only been researched more thoroughly in the last 20 or so years since the Semmering Railway was inscribed in the World Heritage List. In accordance with this, Albania invested efforts to prove his heritage. They have succeeded. However, the literature about von Ghega as a surveyor is limited.
The project design and production needed to be applied in the field. In the literature, we find that as early as 1831, Ghega developed an instrument for staking out curvature (Allgemeine Bauzeitung 1836, The Planimetrica Collection 2019), which was later used to stake out the Semmering Railway project.

Technical data
The chief designer/engineer of the Semmering Railway was Carl Ritter von Ghega. He made this project from 1848 till 1847, while the railway was built from 1848 till 1854. The construction begun with 1007 men and 414 women, and until the end there were around 20 000 workers involved in the construction. Unfortunately, in those times security measures were very low so more than 1000 workers died during the construction. Semmering Railway consists of 14 tunnels long 1477 m, 16 viaducts, a few more storey tunnels long 1477 m, and the longest is 328 m. 118 stone bridges and 11 smaller iron bridges were also built. Total length of the Semmering Railway from Gloggnitz over Semmeringato to Mürzzuschlag is 41 km, elevation difference is 459 m. Allowed maximum incline is 40 mm / m, minimum curve radius 190 m, maximum curve radius 285 m, and design project speed is 11.5 km/h.
In spite of the challenges, construction proceeded according to plan and was completed on time. The railway line was officially launched on 17 July 1854. It was used immediately for passenger and freight transport. A major challenge was the production of new locomotives which could cope with the steep incline, which at the time was considered immense. Four companies (Bavaria, Neustadt, Seraing and Vindobona) competed for production, but none was accepted, although all four met the tender requirements. They were not considered suitable or reliable for serial production (Wikipedia 2019b). Wilhelm von Engerth was given the task ofselecting the best elements from each of the tenders and charged with producing a combined solution (Hamilton 1968). The result was the exceptionally successful, newly-designed Engerth locomotive ( Figure 11) and the railway was launched on time (UNESCO 1998). Between 1853 and 1854, 16 locomotives were built with an average speed of 19 km/h, which was significantly higher than the planned speed of11.5 km/h. The Semmering Railway underwent many changes and repairs over the years, and new, modern materials such as cement blocks were incorporated. These changes were necessary for several reasons, for example, increasing wagon axle loads from 13 t to 22.5 t, which are still used today. Great progress was achieved when journey speeds were increased thanks to the development of new locomotives and the upgrading of the railway upper structure. Major changes occurred between 1957 and 1959 when the entire railway was electrified. It has been maintained continuously since 1854. All the railways and appertaining objects are owned by the Austrian state railways.

Borovnica Viaduct
Apart from the Semmering Railway project and constructions, a series ofother projects was important (see section 3.2), but in this section, we will describe the construction of the Borovnica Viaduct in more detail ( Figure 12). The viaduct was built in the Borovnica Valley in Slovenia between 1850 and 1856. It was part ofthe Austrian Southern Railway from Vienna to Trieste. It was famous for being the largest stone bridge ofits time in Europe. A million cubic metres ofstone rubble were used to build it, along with five million bricks and a million cubic metres ofstone blocks.
The chief designer and engineer for Borovnica Viaduct was Carl Ritter von Ghega. The length of the viaduct was 561 m and the maximum height was over the ground 38 m. The lower part of the viaduct consisted of 22 arches, and the upper part of the viaduct consisted of 25 arches. The materials used were bricks and rubble stone. The bridge was erected on wooden oak piles sunk into the shallow marshland.
Before the outbreak ofthe Second World War, the condition of the viaduct was already poor. For decades, it had been washed by water and the brickwork had deteriorated, while the oak piles supporting it had begun to disintegrate and the entire structure
Prije početka Drugog svjetskog rata vijadukt je bio u lošem stanju. Voda je desetljećima prodirala u vijadukt slabeći opeku, a hrastovi stupovi koji su ga podupirali počeli su propadati, što je rezultiralo time da se cijela građevina postupno slegla. Vlakovi koji su prolazili morali su usporiti na 5 km/h. Početkom Drugog svjetskog rata u Jugoslaviji vojska koja se povlačila razorila je dio mosta. Talijanske su snage željeznom konstrukcijom zamijenile dio vijadukta koji je nedostajao. Nakon što su se Talijani povukli, njemačke su snage had gradually sunk. Trains crossing it were forced to slow down to 5 km/h. During the early months ofthe war, the Yugoslav army blew up part ofthe bridge as they retreated. The Italian forces replaced the damaged parts with an ironwork construction. After the Italians withdrew, the Germans built a road next to the viaduct to cope with increasing air attacks. After the final major Allied air strike in 1944, the partially damaged viaduct was not repaired. The railway line was rerouted in 1947 along the edge of the Borovnica valley, where it is still located today. The rest of the viaduct was demolished piece by piece in 1950. Today, only one pillar remains as a reminder ofthe Borovnica Viaduct (Wikipedia 2019e).
6 Conclusion Like many experts, engineers and scientists ofthe time, Carl Ritter von Ghega was a polymath. He studied mathematics and engineering and took his doctorate at the tender age of 17. He also took architecture courses during his studies. After completing his studies, he began to design roads and buildings and to study railways. He continued his studies around the world and gained knowledge and skills which allowed him to create extremely complex designs for the railway systems ofthe age in which he lived. The most important was for the Semmering Railway. Faced with its challenges, he realised that he needed to deepen his knowledge of surveying. He noticed immediately that the maps of the area were sadly lacking in the detail and reliability required for such a project. In order to produce better maps, he needed to conduct a detailed survey ofthe entire Semmering Railway area. To this end, he developed new surveying instruments with Simon Ritter von Stampfer which were more precise and reliable. A decade earlier, he developed instruments to stake out curves. The development of these instruments facilitated the project plans, staking out and final construction. The Semmering Railway is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Carl Ritter von Ghega's production of these instruments and his map of the Semmering area has indebted him to the science of geodesy, which paid him homage in 2018 by proclaiming him Surveyor ofthe Year.